The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches ( Hiligaynon: ''Kasapulanan sang Bautista nga Pilipinhon'') is a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

churches union, affiliated with the

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...

, in

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Headquartered in Jaro, Iloilo City,

, it was founded in 1900 as the ''first and oldest organized Baptist churches union in the Philippines'' when the country was opened to

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

American missions after the succession of the Philippine islands by Spain to the United States in 1898. The CPBC is responsible through association and concordat with the

American Baptist Foreign Mission Society International Ministries is an international Baptist Christian missionary society. It is a constituent board affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. The headquarters is in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States. History The so ...

in founding and having affiliation presently with the Jaro Evangelical Church (the first Baptist church in the Philippines and first Protestant church outside Manila),

Central Philippine University The Central Philippine University (also referred to as Central or CPU) is a private research university in Iloilo City, Philippines. Established in 1905 through a benevolent grant of the American industrialist and philanthropist, John D. Roc ...

(the first Baptist and second American university in the Philippines in Asia), the CPU College of Theology (first Baptist Theological Seminary in the Philippines), the

Filamer Christian University Filamer Christian University (FCU) is a private Baptist Christian university located in Roxas, Capiz Roxas City, officially the City of Roxas ( Capiznon/ hil, Dakbanwa sang Roxas; fil, Lungsod ng Roxas), is a 3rd class component city and cap ...

(first Baptist school in the Philippines), and the Capiz Emnanuel Hospital (first Baptist hospital in the Philippines). The

Iloilo Mission Hospital The Iloilo Mission Hospital (also known as Central Philippine University–Iloilo Mission Hospital or CPU–Iloilo Mission Hospital), commonly referred to as Mission Hospital, Mission, CPU–IMH or IMH, is a private tertiary, academic and teachin ...

on the other hand, was founded by the Protestant Presbyterians as the first American and Protestant hospital in the Philippines, but it was handed over to the Baptists (CPBC) in the 1930s in which it is subsequently affiliated with.

History

The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches has its origins in a foreign mission of the

American Baptist Missionary Union International Ministries is an international Baptist Christian missionary society. It is a constituent board affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. The headquarters is in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States. History The s ...

on the island of

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...

in February 1900, when the Philippines islands was opened to the Protestant missions after it was ceded to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

administration. Eric Lund, a Swedish Baptist minister working under the auspices of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society and one of the founding fathers of the Jaro Evangelical Church, translated the entire

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

into Hiligaynon, and the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

into two other dialects. In 1905, the

Bible School A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological edu ...

and Jaro Industrial School were established through a grant given by the American Baptist, business magnate and philanthropist, John D. Rockefeller. The two schools later merged and became

, the first Baptist and second American university in the Philippines and Asia. In 1935 the formal formation of ''Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches'' was established. The Convention has allowed ordination of women to the ministry since 1980. According to a denomination census released in 2020, it claimed 1,079 churches and 600,000 members.

Core Mission Principles

*Being grounded in the Biblical tradition *Engagement in prophetic and priestly functions *Building a community that heals and restores broken ties *Developing of strong and responsible leaders *Achieving stability through full support of member churches and organizations *Building of a deeper and stronger relationship with other mission partners *Deep and genuine concern for the lost, the poor, the weak and the needy *Faithfulness to the Baptist legacy of missionary service *A dynamic, relevant and responsive servant organization *Deep commitment to the implementation of a holistic and comprehensive ministry *Full use of appropriate technology to enhance programs and ministries

Beliefs

The Convention has a

confession of faith A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

theology. It is a member of the

and maintains ties with the

American Baptist Churches USA The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline/evangelical Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainl ...

Education

Baptist missionaries founded many schools and universities in the Philippines. Most notable of these is

(CPU), Iloilo City#Education the first

and second

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

university in the Philippines and in Asia (after

Silliman University Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private research university in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, it is ...

in Dumaguete City), while

is the first

school in the Philippines. CPU's earliest forerunner, the Central Philippine University College of Theology which was established four months earlier than the university's second precursor, the Jaro Industrial School, is the first Baptist theological seminary in the Philippines. The CPU College of Nursing, an academic institution for nurses founded in 1906 as Union Mission Hospital Training School for Nurses by the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

American missionaries through the present day

, is the first Nursing School in the Philippines. The Central Philippine University College of Nursing is also one of the leading nursing schools in the Philippines.

's official student governing body, the CPU Republic ( Central Philippine University Republic), is the oldest student government in the

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. It was organized in 1905, one year after the founding of the school.Peter C. Phan, ''Christianities in Asia'', John Wiley & Sons, USA, 2011, p. 109-110 The University's official publication, the Central Echo (''CE'') is the official student publication of CPU. It was founded in 1910, five years after Jaro Industrial School opened. It is one of the oldest student publications in the Philippines.

References

*''Baptists Around the World'', by Albert W. Wardin, Jr. *''The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness'', by H. Leon McBeth

External links